(Photo Credit: Atiba Jefferson)
“Hellfire confidently establishes black midi as a distinct musical personality.” — The Wire
“They’ve wrangled chaos into submission, and currently sound like no other band out there.” — Uncut
black midi – the UK-based trio of Geordie Greep (guitar, vocals), Cameron Picton (bass, vocals) and Morgan Simpson (drums) – present a new single/video, ‘Eat Men Eat,’ from their forthcoming album, Hellfire, out July 15th on Rough Trade. Musically, ‘Eat Men Eat‘ is a fusion of Rock and Flamenco, the latter being the working title found on early setlists. The lyrics, written by Picton, tell the story of a couple’s quest to overcome a militaristic Mine Captain cursed with an acid tongue as well as their own uncomfortable internal grumblings. The recording also features more than 50 fan submitted recordings layered into the end of the piece as well as palmas and various other percussive elements provided by Demi García Sabat. It’s accompanying video was directed by Maxim Kelly.
“The Red River Mining Company” first referenced in Cavalcade’s ‘Diamond Stuff’ reappears in ‘Eat Men Eat.’ Picton elaborates: “The story starts in the desert with two men engaged in a desperate search for missing friends. Their quest leads them to a strange mining facility which, despite a dearth of natural resources in the area, opens its doors for even stranger hosts to welcome them. That evening, with zero sign of their friends, a massive feast is laid on by the mine’s cantankerous Captain, who performs a long speech encouraging all to indulge as this is to be the workers’ last night before returning to their families. With good reason for suspicion, the protagonists feign gluttony and consume as little as humanly possible. Unfortunately, as they later find, even that’s not quite enough. Night falls, they hide and as the workers fall comatose the wardens, overseen by the Captain, make preparations to pump their poisoned stomachs. It turns out the purpose of the mine is to procure an excess of human stomach acid used in the production of a bastardized blood red wine, sold and loved in the region. After the wider conspiracy is revealed and upon realizing their friends must be long gone, the partners decide they must destroy the facility. A spanner plugs the works however, as one of the men experiences mild effects of the poison and the production of acid in his stomach goes into overdrive. As his chest literally bubbles he says what may be his final goodbyes to his partner and the other man is left to do the heavy lifting alone. He succeeds and as they flee, arm in arm, the demon Captain erupts from the burning embers and curses the two men to the hell of crippling acid reflux for the rest of their days. They see no reason to worry though, as they’re sure to return home hailed as heroes.”
Watch black midi’s Video for ‘Eat Men Eat’
Written in isolation in London after the release of last year’s Cavalcade, Hellfire builds on the melodic and harmonic elements of its predecessor, while expanding the brutality and intensity of their debut, Schlagenheim. As Greep describes it: “if Cavalcade was a drama, ‘Hellfire’ is like an epic action film” that delves into overlapping themes of pain, loss and anguish. Whereas the stories of Cavalcade were told in third person, Hellfire is presented in first person and tells the tales of morally suspect characters. There are direct dramatic monologues, flamboyantly appealing to our degraded sense of right and wrong. You’re never quite sure whether to laugh at or be horrified. It is their most thematically cohesive and intentional album yet.
(Hellfire Cover Artwork by David Rudnick)
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